Chapter 12: COLORS OF PANIC

The sight of John Paul's remaining body and shredded guts littered on the grass stuns everyone as though a grenade blasted in front of them. Joshua quickly steps back and freezes in horror. Vincent inaudibly curses several times as terror slithers throughout his body. His lips are moving, but the only sound is coming from Cristina, screaming at the top of her voice. She directs her gaze away from the gruesome sight, and presses her chest with her left hand as she struggles to breathe. Inside a red circle about twenty meters away, Jennifer screams in shock. In her fury, she unleashes a torrent of light orbs straight into the swarming beasts, bathing the open field in a stream of colored light which shines brightly and steadily for more than three minutes, dimming only as exhaustion overwhelms her, and she finally bursts out in tears. Meanwhile, Shaira is too petrified to utter a sound. She slowly turns around and breathes hard as her memories with John Paul pour into her mind….  

    "Oh my God! I'm surrounded by zombies."

    "No. I go first. The stronger one should go first."

    "Wooooow!!! I can't believe someone like you exists. Okay. Go ahead. After all we are weaker than you."

    Immediately, another scene flashes back….

    "And now what's the plan?"

    "We dive into the cliff, maybe."

    "You're really an idiot."

    "Of course I talk like an idiot. How else would you understand me? Okay, surprise me. Say something intelligent."

    "You really have one rotten mouth right there."

    Shaira sniffs and tearfully takes a deep breath, guilty and regretful of the way she ruthlessly taunted him with her acerbic words….

Mabel, on the other hand, slumps to the ground, numb and feeble, as though all her energy were instantly drained out of her body. A stream of tears immediately flows down her cheeks as she dreadfully wails with her raspy voice. Then, memories of her friend swiftly knife into her mind….

"Hey, Mabel! Wait!"

"Oh! Candy. Why are you walking to school? This is… unusual."

"For a change.... No, actually, I want to walk with you. Now I know how hard it is to run."

"Yes. Oh, look at you. You're sweating! It's ruining your doll face. I have a handkerchief—"

"No. It's okay. Don't worry…. Can I ask you something?"

"Huh?"

"Yesterday… you were in the library, right?"

"Hmm. Yes. Why?"

"And Jake was there, too. Sitting beside you…."

"Oh. Yes…. He approached me. He said he'd like to help me do my research."

"I also saw you with him in the cafeteria last Monday. And he was walking with you yesterday after class…. Tell me. What's happening?"

"Nothing. I swear. He was just… being nice, I guess."

"You know we're together, right? How can you do this to me?"

"What do you mean? No. Listen. It was not my intention to—"

"I've seen enough. You've never tried to make things right. I thought you were my friend."

"Let me explain…. Candy, wait!"

Candy tearfully ran across the busy road, and in the blink of an eye, Mabel clearly saw her dear friend struck by a raging delivery truck. Next thing she knew, she was wailing at her friend's crushed and torn body while bystanders quickly swarmed like ants surrounding a fallen piece of candy….

    Kriz wipes her weepy eyes, kneels on the grass, and gives Mabel a tight back hug.

    "Pull yourself together…." Kriz tells Mabel. "Hey! We can do this, okay? We can do this…."

    "I-I-I don't want to d-d-die…." Mabel sobs. "My m-m-mother is waiting… for… m-me…."

    "I know. I know. That's why you need to be strong…."      

    Mabel's memories flit like leaves of a book flipping rapidly and then halting on one specific page….

    "Thank you, Ma…."

    "For what, Bel?"

    "For everything. I'm graduating this year. All because of you… and Pa. At last! My Senior High life will be over. Welcome to College!"

    "You want to be a teacher, right?"

    "Yes. I want to teach small kids. Cute little kids…."

    "I will work even harder, and you will become a teacher. The most beautiful teacher…. We just need to be strong…."

    "Thanks Ma. I promise I will study hard…. I will be strong…."

    "That's nice. And your father and I will do everything for your twin brother to become an engineer. Funny, he keeps on telling me that he will build a mansion for us."

    Basking in her memory, Mabel wails even harder, oblivious of the blistering heat of noon….

    Meanwhile…

    "Oh! You can't even scratch that thing with that… chainsaw," Victor tells Jeric. "And didn't I tell you that no objects created by superpowers stay long in that cage? If those metals were people they would be the most maddening and stubborn beings. You're just wasting your time."

    "Of course, I'm wasting my time!" Jeric snarls. "I've been wasting my time in here!"

    "Whoa! Stay cool, my friend. Just—"

    "I'm NOT your friend! Let me out!"

    "Oh. I'm sorry but I only accept orders from my friends. Since you're not my friend I cannot help you. I'm so sorry."

    "STOP MOCKING ME!!!" Jeric forcibly kicks the metal bars of the cage, his face red with anger. "LET ME OUT!"

    "You know I can't do that even if I want to. But I can't blame you. Boredom is worse than pain, if you know what I mean…. Boredom can drive you nuts. Look at you. It's starting to take over…."

    "I don't care! You're the one who's crazy…. What is happening out there?! What is happening to Cristina?"

    "Cristina? Oh! She's having fun, I guess. Last time I checked, she was screaming. Don't worry. She's with other players. But one of them is down. Check your watch. You're too busy doing useless things…."

    Jeric immediately checks his watch:

12:10

RT: 149H 50M

Rank: 11

Dead: 3 (ZALDY, MOISES, JOHN PAUL)

    "Who's John Paul?"

    "The handsome one in gray polo. Don't you remember him? I really feel sorry for what happened to his… abs. If only I had that kind of body! You're fortunate you didn't witness the scene. But, don't worry. I know he's not important to you. Have you noticed that your remaining time is reduced by 12 hours? That's for killing 'switch boy'. And let me update you further: The last in rank is the 'glass man'. He's rank 12."

    "I don't care about them. I was asking about Cristina."

    "She's still alive."

    Jeric glares at his watch, teeth clenched in exasperation. "Do you know that you're NOT FUNNY?!"

    "Ouch."

On the open field…

12:30 pm

The large number of flying beasts clouding the sky is not enough to assuage the pain and discomfort brought by the searing beams of sunlight. Dehydration and wooziness start ruling against them as sweat drips profusely out of their bodies.  Mabel stops crying and everyone inside the blue circle is thinking hard about the best thing to do next. Jennifer manages to safely enter a blue circle while the rest stay where they are.

"It's clear. Blue circles don't shrink," Joshua concludes.

"But we're powerless in here," Kriz says. "We can't stay in here forever."

"But I'm too tired to run," Cristina says. "And this heat is killing me! I've eaten many apples already, but I think I'm still out of water. Look at my sweat! Can't anybody create an umbrella?"

"Maybe we should start moving at night. For the meantime, let's eat more apples," Vincent suggests.

"What was that?" Shaira asks. "At night? When we can't see those… circles? Are you using your brain?"

"You have a better idea?" Vincent retorts.

"Yes. We should clear this marathon before the sun sets."

"Then go ahead. Shooo!"

"You said what?"

"Shooooo! Go!"

Shaira clenches both of her fists and glares at Vincent.

"By the way, you're still very pretty even if your hair already looks like it's been targeted by a tornado or—"

"ONE MORE WORD AND I'LL RIP YOUR CLOTHES—"

"So that you can see my… body? I knew it. You're a pervert. But if you're really into it, then—AAAARRGGH!!!"

    At once, Shaira takes control of Vincent's clothes, squeezing them tighter. "What did you say?"

    "STOP IT! Aarrgh!" Vincent curls onto the ground. "STOP! It will crack my—"

    "Hey, stop it!" Joshua says. "STOP! This is not the time for this!"

    "Okay." Shaira gestures her hands and instantly loosens Vincent's clothes. "Look at what you've done to my shorts."

    "What?" Vincent looks at Shaira's shorts while still curled up on the ground.

    "Every time I use my power my clothes get shorter. Oh my God! I think my shirt became a lot shorter too…."

    "And you're blaming me for that?"

    "OF COURSE!!!"

    Pressing his crotch, Vincent slowly stands up and glares at Shaira. "Hey…."

    "What? You want some more?"

    "My clothes…."

    "What's your problem? I've already turned it back to normal."

    "No. They're too loose now…. My underwear is coming off."

1:15 pm

"Exactly four hours more and you'll be out of there," Victor tells Ryan. "It's nice to see you strong again. As good as new…. Like a construction worker who has just eaten his breakfast. By the way, do you think your decision was the best one? I think you should have chosen button C, instead of A."

"That was my decision. Not yours," Ryan says.

"Okay. I respect that. I just want to say that your watch wants to tell you something important."

    Ryan checks his watch:

1:15

RT: 125H 12M

Rank: 12

Dead: 3 (ZALDY, MOISES, JOHN PAUL)

    "What happened to John Paul?" Ryan's eyes bulge in shock and disbelief. "What happened!?"

    "Oh, you don't wanna know. Trust me. Let's just say that he's sunbathing right now."

    "What do you mean?"

"Never mind. You should worry more about your remaining time. You've lost a lot of time during your epic battle. I can't blame you. You didn't have a choice. Also, you may want to worry about your ranking. Being at the last spot is never good. Not in this game. You don't want your name to follow John Paul's, right?"

    "Who killed John Paul?"

    "Clue: The killer's name is not Ryan."

    "ARE YOU TRYING TO BE FUNNY?!"

1:30 pm

    Joshua and the others manage to enter a new blue circle, and Jennifer is successful in rejoining the group. She glances at John Paul's body at a distance and silently utters her words of goodbye.

    "That's it. I'm exhausted. I can't do this anymore," Cristina pants.

    "No. We have to keep going," Kriz says. "Shaira is right. We have to get out of this field before the sun sets. It's hard to run in the dark."

    "It's easy for you to say that because your body is always… fine. And I can't even see where this field ends!"

    "It's not like that…. And Mabel…. Please don't start crying again, okay? We will take some rest every now and then. Okay?"

    "You have to remove your shoes," Joshua tells Vincent. "Remove it now. You're always behind."

    "But I can still—"

    "No, you can't. Remove it. If not because of Jennifer you must have been dead by now. If you don't want to do it, I'll do it."

    "What's with those shoes, by the way?" Cristina asks.

    "They become heavier every time he uses his power," Joshua answers.

    "Oh. And what is his power?"

    "He can change the mass of whatever he touches."

    "Wow…. I see. What about you? What can you do?"

    "Well… I can increase the length of whatever I touch… but there are some exceptions."

    "Oh. And Shaira, right there, can manipulate clothes, right? Strange powers."

    "Yes. Very strange. But honestly, I think my power is not that useful." Joshua removes Vincent's shoes and throws them outside the circle. "This time, you can run fast. You're a basketball player. And there are no thorns in this place."

    "Okay. I trust your judgment," Vincent says. "By the way, where are your glasses?"

    "What? Oh. I didn't notice. I've lost it."

    "Are you okay?"

    "Yah…. I guess. I'm nearsighted, but I think I can still manage."

    "Guys, the nearest circle from here is a yellow one," Kriz cuts in. "There. Right there. Almost northeast again. Near the trees. And the nearest circle from there is still a yellow one. We're almost at the right edge of this open field. What do you guys think? Should we go there?"

    "No," says Cristina. "We don't know what it can do. Let's choose a blue one."

    "That one straight ahead?" Mabel butts in. "But it's too far. We won't make it there alive."

    "But Jennifer can stop those creatures from attacking. Right, Jennifer?" Cristina says.

    "Yes… but…. Maybe…. I don't know. Maybe I can't," Jennifer says. "Kriz is right. It's a little too far."

    "I'll test it first," Vincent says. "I'll go ahead."

    "Wait. Hey. What are you talking about?" Joshua asks. "You can't go there alone."

    "Jennifer will protect me. She can easily protect one, so let's go there one by one."

    "But—"

    "For the first time, I like your idea," Shaira cuts in. "Your clothes are okay now, so you're good to go. Shoooo!"

    "You really want me to die, don't you? I'm sorry but I'm not planning to feed myself to those beasts."

    "Whatever…." Shaira rolls her eyes. "What are you waiting for? Sprint out already!"

    "Wait!" Joshua says. "Be careful…."

    Vincent dashes barefoot toward the target circle as fast as he can, while the rest repeatedly shout "Run!", urging him to succeed. As expected, ten beasts quickly dive toward him, but Jennifer once again proves herself extremely useful in stopping most of them. As soon as Vincent steps into the yellow circle, all the ten attackers turn into black boulders, and those not hit by Jennifer's power immediately fall onto the ground. The yellow circle instantly vanishes as soon as Vincent steps out of it to avoid being squashed by one of the gigantic rocks. Ten more beasts turn into boulders and immediately rain down like hailstones, one of them falling straight toward the blue circle where six persons are in. Everyone inside screams in shock while dodging it, and then manages to run away in different directions. Disoriented, Cristina and Mabel frantically bolt northwest toward a red circle about 30 meters away, dodging several boulders on their path. Kriz and Shaira scream as they race straight ahead toward the blue circle about 60 meters away. Meanwhile, Joshua and Jennifer dash toward the yellow circle they spotted before, still having no idea that it vanished the moment Vincent stepped out of it.

Stepping out of the safe zones poses a new menace—ten beasts immediately dive toward their respective targets. Three dart toward Mabel and Cristina. Another three chase Kriz and Shaira. Two rush toward Joshua and Jennifer, while the remaining two decide to hunt Vincent as their lone prey. Mabel cries in panic, thinking that her end is near. She hears the flapping of wings getting louder while Cristina screams like crazy from behind her. Fortunately, she manages to step into the red circle. Cristina, however, is grabbed by one of the beasts by the shoulders. At the same time, Kriz and Shaira are also clawed and started being lifted off the ground. Jennifer luckily freezes her attackers and continues running toward Vincent after discerning that her target circle is already gone.

Vincent, at last, steps into another yellow circle. Straight away, the attacking beasts turn into large car tires, dropping Cristina, Kriz and Shaira onto the ground. Then, ten more turn into car tires and rain onto the ground. Two tires almost hammer Kriz and Shaira who are still lying on the ground, hurt and almost unconscious. Unfortunately, a tire slams into Cristina's legs, immediately breaking them and leaving her wailing in excruciating pain. Joshua and Jennifer manage to dodge the falling tires and finally step into the yellow circle where Vincent is in. Joshua expects another surprise rain but it doesn't come.

A new set of attackers dives toward the players outside the safe zones. Upon seeing the threats, Mabel steps out of the red circle toward Cristina to drag her into safety. Kriz hurries to stand up, carries Shaira in her arms, and starts running toward the blue circle, now only about 20 meters ahead. Jennifer tensely shoots the enemies and luckily hits seven of them. Mabel succeeds in dragging Cristina into the red circle, but Kriz is snatched by one of the three remaining attackers, while Shaira is still wrapped in her arms.

"NOOOO!!!" Jennifer shouts as she shoots the beast hauling the two ladies.

    Desperate, Vincent steps out of the yellow circle and dashes toward another one about 15 meters northeast. Upon stepping into it, all the attacking beasts turn into golden swords, dropping Kriz and Shaira from a height of about 15 meters. From a distance, Jennifer shoots a stream of light orbs in an attempt to prevent the ladies from slamming against the ground. Just before hitting the ground, a light orb hits Shaira's head, but Kriz falls straight down, cracking her spine and fracturing the bones of her legs. Then, another ten beasts turn into swords, rain onto the panicking victims, and two of them almost impale Joshua and Vincent, falling straight onto the yellow circles.

    Mabel screams for help while Cristina is still wailing in pain. Seconds later, Kriz stands up in perfect condition, carries Shaira in her arms, and safely runs into the blue circle. At once, she uses her power to heal Shaira's injuries.

    "HEEELP US!!!" Mabel yells. "Cristina is badly hurt!" Mabel's fear escalates as she notices that the red circle they are in is starting to shrink. "HEEEEEEEELLLLP!!!"

    Suddenly, several trees from the side about 40 meters ahead fly straight into the field as though they were blown by a violent gust of wind, immensely intensifying everyone's terror. About 30 seconds later, three figures emerge, running straight out into the open. Upon discerning who the newcomers are, Jennifer shouts in a strange mix of joy and apprehension.

"AERON! JORIZ! JOHNREY! RUUUUNNN!!! GET INSIDE A CIRCLE! NOOOOWWW!!!